ProShare Advisors LLC Raises Position in Monster Beverage Corporation $MNST

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) by 39.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,649,282 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 470,572 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Monster Beverage were worth $126,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 508.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 72.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of MNST opened at $86.35 on Wednesday. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.09 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.00 and a 200 day moving average of $76.92. The company has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.50.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Monster Beverage had a net margin of 23.11% and a return on equity of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Monster Beverage announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 0.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monster Beverage news, CFO Thomas J. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $614,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 62,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,492,778.93. This trade represents a 10.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark J. Hall sold 54,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.81, for a total value of $4,633,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 299,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,678,299.26. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,700 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,462. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MNST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Monster Beverage from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Monster Beverage from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monster Beverage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.89.

Monster Beverage Company Profile

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ: MNST) is an American beverage company best known for its Monster Energy brand of energy drinks. The company’s product portfolio centers on carbonated energy beverages and a range of complementary ready-to-drink offerings, including energy coffees, hydration beverages and other flavored functional drinks. Monster markets multiple sub-brands and flavor variants to address different consumer segments and consumption occasions.

Originally organized around the Hansen’s Natural line of juices and sodas, the company pivoted toward the energy drink category and formally adopted the Monster Beverage name in the early 2010s to reflect its strategic focus.